Ulysses sqott smith



U. 8. SMITH TONSILLECTOME May 24, 1932.

Filed Sept. 25, 1931 Inventor flllorney Patented May 24 1932 PATEN'Brice ULYssns soorr'rpsnrrrr, or HANNIBA MISSOURI TQNSILLEGIQME'Application filed September 25, 1931. serial No. 565,173.

The present invention relates generally to surgical instruments and moreparticularly to a tonsillectome and has for its primary objecttoprovide, in a manner as hereinafter ""45 set forth, an instrument ofthis character embodying a novel construction, combination andarrangement of parts through the medium ofawhich 'theftonsil is crushedoff, thereby limiting hemorrhage resulting from the operation. v i

*Another important object of the invention is to provide a tonsillectomeincluding a manually operable slidable snare of heavy wire and furtherincluding novel means for mounting the snare on its carrier.

"Another very important ob'ec't of the invention is to provide atonsillectome embodying novel means for engagement by the digits of thehand formanipulating the instrument and controlling and actuating thesame.

Other objects of the invention are to provide'a tonsillectome of thecharacter 'described which will be simple in construction, strong,durable, eflicient and reliable in use and which may be manufactured atlow cost. All ofthe foregoingandstill furtherob jects and advantages ofthe invention will become apparent from a study of the followingspecification, taken in connection-with the accompanying drawingswherein like characters of reference designate corresponding partsthroughout 'theseveral; views, and wherein:- 7' l l Figurel is a topplan view of the tonsillectome constituting the present invention;

Figure 2 is a view in vertical longitudinal sectiontaken substantiallyon the line 2- -2 of Figure 1. V

t Figure :31is a detail. view intop plan showing-the means.forrconnecting the )snare to the carrien l p 1 Figure 4 i s a sectionalview taken substantially on the line-4:4 of F igure 2.

Figure 5 isa sectional view taken'substantially on the line 5- 5 ofFigure 3. r Y Figure 6: is a detail viewin elevation showing theauxiliary actuator which is provided for use when unusual power on thecarrier so is desired. i l p. *Referring now to the drawings 'ln detall,

nal slot 2 therein.

' is in use.

it Will be seen that the tonsillectome constituting the presentinvention comprises an elongated metallic bar 1 having a longitudi- Atits inner end the slot 2 merges with a polygonal opening 3 pro- 55.vided in the bar 1. Formed integrally with the inner end of the bar 1 isa depending, arcuate finger 4; for abutting engagement with the ballportion of the hand adjacent the base of the thumb when the instrumentRisingfrom the inner end portion of the bar 1 is an upwardly andrearwardly curved finger 5 for engagement be tweenthe base of the thumband the base of the index finger when the. instrument is in'66 use. Thebase portion of the finger 5 is provided with alongitudinal opening 6the purpose of which will be presently set forth.

On the outer end portion of the bar 1 is a guide 7 through which thesnare to be previ sently described is operable. The outer end of theguide 7 is formed to-provide anarcuate jaw 8 for. cooperation withtheaforemen? tioned snare. All-of the surfaces of the jaw 8 are rounded sothat no cutting edges are present. e p a l Disposed beneath the jaw 8 isa bowl 9 for the reception of the severed tonsil. A. web 10 bridges alower portion of the slot 2 at an intermediate point in the bar 1.Rising from an intermediate portion of the bar 1 on op posite sides ofthe slot 2 are the posts 11, the purpose of which also will be presentlyset forth. 1 A carrier12 is operable.longitudinally in the slot 2, saidcarrier having its forward portion upwardly offset, as at 13,and'operable above the web 10. At its inner end the carrier has formedintegrally thereon an upstanding head 14 having a longitudinal threadedopening 15 therein which is aligned with the opening 6. The head 14 ispassed through the opening 3 when mounting the carrier 12 in position orWhen removing said carrier.

The reference numeral 16 designates a raised intermediate portion of thecarrier 12. At its forward end the raised portion or rib 16 terminatesina point andformed integrallythereon is a guard 17; The guard 17 israised with respect to the bar 1 and is substantially of theconfiguration of an arrow head.

The reference numerals 18, 19 and 20 designate longitudinally spacedupstanding posts on the outer end portion of the carrier 12. The posts19 and 20 are substantially T- shaped, as illustrated to advantage inFigure 5 of the drawings. The reference numeral 21 designates a snare ofheavy wire which is bent to define a loop and'theend portions of whichare engaged with the posts 18, 19 and 20 and the guard 17 in the mannerbest seen in Figure 3 of the drawings. The heads of the substantiallyT-shaped posts 19 and 20 prevent the wire from accidentally slippingoff. The guard '17, in addition to retaining the free ends of the wireconstituting the snare, also shields these ends to prevent injury bycontact therewith. The snare 21 is thus mounted on the carrier 12 forreciprocation longitudinally in the guide 7 Extending from a rearportion of the carrier 12 is a finger 22 which constitutes the mainmeans for actuating the carrier. tending upwardly from the carrier 12 ata point slightly forward of the finger 22 is a finger 23 which also isfor engagement by a finger of the hand for actuating the carrier. A stop24 rises from the carrier 12 in forwardly spaced relation to the finger23.

The reference numeral 25 designates an auxiliary carrier operatingdevice or member which includes a threaded shank 26 which is engagementin the opening 15 of the head 14 for operatively connecting saidauxiliary actuator to the carrier. The actuator 25 .is provided with anenlargement defining a shoulder 27 which is engageable with the finger5. The reference numeral 28 designates a handle in the form of an eyefor actuating the member 25. A threaded shank 29 rises from a rearportion of the carrier 12 and has threaded thereon a nut 30. The nut 30travels above the bar 1 and prevents downward movement of the rear endportion of the carrier 12 through the slot 2' when the instrument is inuse. 5

When in use, the finger 4 is engaged with the ball portion of the handadjacent the base of the thumb and the crotch portion of the hand whichis between the. base of the to properlyengagethesnare 21 overthe tonsil.During this operation the disposition of the index finger between thestop 24 and the posts 11 will prevent accidental or unintentionalactuation of the carrier 12 rearwardly. After the tonsil has beenproperly engaged, the index finger is removed from between the stop 24and the posts 11, and, if desirable, or necessary, may be engaged withthe upper portion of the finger 23 to assist in pulling the carrierrearward- The snare 21 co-acts with the arcuate aw 8to crush and thensever the tonsil. The construction of the device is such that the use ofa comparatively large wire is permitted which is an important feature ofthe invention. This comparatively large wire forming the snare 21, inconjunction with the rounded surfaces, of the jaw 8 will result infirst'crushing the tissue and then severing the tonsil, thus completinga substantially bloodless operation. 1

In those comparatively rare" cases where even greater power on thecarrier12 is necessary or desirable and can be applied by engaging thefingers of the hand with the fingers 22 and 23, the shank 26 of theactuator 25 is inserted through the opening 6 and engaged in thethreaded opening 15 of the head 1.4 on the carrier. .The actuator 25 isthen rotated and, with the shoulder 27 abutting the finger 5 the carrier12 will be, drawn rearwardly, as will be'apparent.

It is believed that the many advantages of a tonsillectome constructedin accordance with the present invention will be readily understood, andalthough the preferred embodiment of the invention is as illustrated anddescribed, it is to be understood that changes in the details ofconstruction, and in the combination'and arrangement of parts mayberesorted to which will fall within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

WVhat is claimed is I 1. A tonsillectome comprising a bar, a jaw on oneend of the bar, a carrier slidably mounted on the bar, a series of postson the carrier and a snare mounted on the carrier, said snare comprisinga length of wire bent to loop form and having its end portionsoperatively engaged with the posts in a manner to securethe snare inposition on the carrier, certain of the posts being substantially T-shaped for retaining the wire constituting the snare thereon, and araised guard on the carrier engageable with the ends of the wire formingthe snare in a manner to retain and shield said ends.

2. A, tonsillectome comprising an'elongated bar having a longitudinalslot therein, a guide on one end of the bar, said guide projectingbeyond said one end of the bar, an arcuatejaw on the free end of theguide, the surfaces of said jaw being rounded, a car-.

rier mounted on the bar and slidable operable inthe slot, a raised ribon 'an 'intera single length of heavy wire bent in loop 7 form andhaving its end portions engaged mediate portion of the carrier, a guardon one end portion of the rib, a series of upstanding posts on one endportion of the carrier, certain of the posts being substantially T-shaped, a snare detachably mounted on the carrier and operable throughthe guide for coaction with the jaw, said snare comprising with theposts in a manner to retain the snare in position on the carrier, theends of the wire being engaged with the rib beneath the guard,

and means for actuating the carrier.

3. A tonsillectome comprising an elongated bar having a longitudinalslot therein, a jaw on one end of the bar, a carrier mounted on the barand slidably operable in the slot, a snare mounted on the carrier forcoaction with the jaw, fingers projecting from the carrier for manuallyactuating said carrier, posts rising from the bar, a stop rising fromthe carrier, said stop and the posts being adapted to receive a fingerof the hand thered between for preventing actuation of the carrier inone direction, and means on the other 7 end of the bar for engagement bythe hand.

4. A tonsillectome comprising an elongated bar having a longitudinalslot therein, a jaw on one end of the bar, a carrier mounted on the barand slidably operable in the slot, a snare mounted on one end of thecarrier for'coaction with the aw, a head on the other end of the carrierhaving a threaded opening therein, an upstanding finger on the other endof the bar having an opening thereinin longitudinal alignment with theopening'in thehead, an actuator rotatably insertable through the secondnamed opening for threaded engagement'with the head for actuating thecarrier in one direction, and a shoulder on the actuator for abuttingengagement with the finger.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

ULYSSES SCOTT SMITH.

